LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Virginia –
A highly decorated and dedicated local retired Army Air Corps pilot died Jan. 3.
Robert Guillotte joined the Army Air Corps in 1940, enlisting as a clerk from his hometown of Springfield, Mass. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked in 1941. Soon after, the 130-pound clerk attended pilot training to fly the P-47. In December 1942, Captain Guillotte was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant in order to receive his commission.
As a first lieutenant, Captain Guillotte, was assigned to the 365th Fighter Group, Hell Hawks. Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Elwood R. “Pete” Quesada, former Commanding General of IX Tactical Air Force, of which the Hell Hawks were part, once wrote, “The young men of the Hell Hawks were a cross section of our best. Their dedication, initiative, decency and courage is a fond memory causing my own reflections to be sober. Above all else, I am proud -- proud of having served with them ... The war that the Hell Hawks fought was often brutal, always dangerous and certainly inspired by a worthy cause. I [often wonder] if the men of the Hell Hawks inspired their leaders or did their leaders inspire their men ... It is not an accident that the men of the Hell Hawks had [such qualities]. It is a coincidence, however, that so many of them had more than their share.”
In May 1944, Captain Guillotte was shot down on a bombing run on a steel bridge at Vernon, France. He recalled bailing out at 250 feet. It was so low that his parachute hardly had time to open before he hit the ground. For nearly three weeks, he slept in barns and traversed the French countryside trying to make his way to Spain. All pilots from his unit were told if they could make it to Spain they would find safe passage back to England.
Near the end of May, Captain Guillotte was caught by German authorities on a train bound for Spain and taken as a prisoner of war. He was interrogated in different camps for more than six months before his transfer to Stalag 7 where he spent the rest of the war.
During his career, he received eight Bronze Service Stars and the Distinguished Flying Cross Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters. If not for Richmond native Virginia Lee Maxson, Captain Guillotte might have moved away after his return to the states. The two were married, and he stayed in the local area, working in dynamic analysis at National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor of NASA, for 25 years.
Captain Guillotte was laid to rest at Parklawn Memorial Park in Hampton. He was preceded in death by his wife and his brother, George Guillotte. He is survived by his four children: two daughters, Virginia Lee Spencer and Kathleen Owen, and two sons, Robert Guillotte Jr. and Mark Guillotte, along with their husbands and wives, as well as six grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Paul.